Daily life of a cultivation judge

From their reactions, Duan Ting and Liu Ying seemed oblivious to the significance of the card Yang Qing handed over. Their attention was divided between Mei Yu, the other attendants, and the wondrous features of the restaurant.

The same couldn't be said for the young lady in blue. Her eyes lingered on the card, flashing with a mix of surprise and envy before softening into a melancholy gaze. She quickly masked her emotions with a stoic expression, but not before Yang Qing noticed the fleeting shift.

Her reaction further solidified Yang Qing's theory that she hailed from a powerful faction. Only someone familiar with the card's existence would understand its value, and such knowledge wasn't readily available. It required a certain level of connection and status to be in the know.

Yang Qing himself had only learned of it by chance during his time at the Order. It wasn't through deliberate effort, either. One of his instructors had mentioned it offhandedly as part of an incentive to motivate him during a particularly grueling test. She had even promised to give him her own membership card if he made a genuine effort.

This happened during his third year at the Institute. By then, the Institute had thoroughly broken him, reducing him to a shadow of his former self. The program left him so petrified that even his own shadow felt like a threat.

Paranoia consumed him. Disaster seemed to lurk around every corner, and no matter how strong his mental fortitude or how hardened he was by his family's trials, two years of relentless torment from the instructors had taken its toll. He wasn't alone in this; the program's brutal methods drained every student, a tradition upheld with sadistic consistency.

At the Institute, you could tell how far along a student was just by looking at their eyes. The more lifeless they seemed, the closer they were to graduation.

To endure and conserve the meager reserves of energy and spirit he had left, Yang Qing adopted what he called the "turtle strategy" during combat duels. It was simple yet effective: master defensive techniques, hide in a protective shell, endure the enemy's attacks, and wait them out. His goal wasn't victory but survival—letting his opponents exhaust themselves against his defenses.

This strategy suited him perfectly thanks to his vast spiritual qi reserves. It became even more effective when paired with a defensive art tailored to his strengths: the Eternal Shell of Eight Harmonies. A middle-tier blue-grade art, it required an intricate understanding of the Eight Trigrams of natural phenomena: heaven, earth, thunder, wood, water, fire, mountain, and marsh.

Thanks to his unique physique and his main cultivation art, which transformed his qi into a universal qi, Yang Qing had a natural advantage in manifesting the eight natural phenomena.

From that moment onward, rather than exhausting himself by devising strategies for fights that never seemed to end, he embraced the turtle strategy wholeheartedly. His shameless approach was simple: stay still, employ an adaptive defensive art, and let his opponents tire themselves out.

It worked flawlessly, much to the frustration of his peers and the instructors. His steadfast refusal to engage in flashy combat soon became a source of ire, particularly for the instructors, who resorted to both veiled and outright threats in an attempt to make him change his ways. But Yang Qing wasn't one to yield easily.

The way he saw it, the instructors would torment him regardless of how he fought, so why waste energy trying to appease them? And so, he stuck to his turtle strategy, earning himself the less-than-flattering nickname: Green Turtle Bagua.

True to their word, the instructors made good on their threats, subjecting him to even harsher punishments. But their efforts only strengthened Yang Qing's resolve. Spite and self-preservation drove him to deepen his understanding of the technique, until his sheer stubbornness finally forced the instructors to concede.

That is, all of them except one.

This particular instructor took a different approach. Instead of using violence or intimidation, she employed a much softer tactic: bribery. And it struck far deeper than any punch or threat could, because she knew her target well. No matter how battered his body and spirit were during those dark days, there was one thing that remained unbroken—his appetite.

When she dangled that particular bait in front of him, it was game over—he caved. Not that it was entirely his fault. That instructor was insidiously thorough in her methods. She didn't just show the card; she even went so far as to bring dishes from the Dreamscape Swallow's Nest for him to sample. It was a cruel move, giving him a literal taste of what awaited if he performed well enough to earn the card.

And Yang Qing, ever the overachiever when properly motivated, went above and beyond. True to her promise, he got the card. Only…

Yang Qing unconsciously gritted his teeth as the memory resurfaced. It turned out the Dreamscape Swallow's Nest had two types of memberships.

There was the Violet Membership, the one Wei Shen held, the highest tier, where nearly all services were free. And then there was the Azure Membership… a far more modest tier. Azure members received a 30-50% discount on services and goods. A decent deal on paper, but for a third-year student with only 24 low-grade spirit stones to his name, it was practically useless.

That amount wasn't even enough to let him lick the leftovers from their plates, let alone buy a proper meal.

He had been thoroughly bamboozled by that instructor. Worse, she wielded her scheme as leverage. She threatened to reveal to the entire Institute—and the Order if necessary—that Yang Qing had been outwitted so thoroughly.

For someone who prized his face as much as Yang Qing did, the mere thought of that humiliation was unbearable. The instructor had known her target all too well.

"That's all in the past now," Yang Qing whispered to himself, emotions stirring in his heart as Mei Yu led them to the fifth floor, a level exclusively reserved for violet card holders.

As for the young lady in blue robes, her reaction to the card had already betrayed her background. Only someone with a well-informed and well-connected lineage would recognize its significance so quickly.

As Mei Yu guided them upward, Duan Ting and Liu Ying's astonishment escalated with each passing floor. Each level was more grand than the last, whether in terms of its lavish ornaments, tranquil ambiance, or even the increasing spiritual qi density that permeated the air.

By the time they reached the fourth floor, the spiritual qi density rivaled that of a lesser dragon vein. The source was a peak palace realm spiritual plant flourishing at its center—a serene marble rose. This extraordinary bloom enhanced the spiritual density while its fragrance and radiant beauty transformed the floor into a miniature paradise, as if shaped from the rose's ethereal petals.

Finally, they arrived at the fifth floor. Mei Yu stepped aside, leaving them in the care of her assistant supervisor, who had been waiting by the entrance. His poised demeanor and readiness suggested their arrival had been anticipated.

The assistant supervisor appeared to be a young man in his mid-thirties with a gentle demeanor. His hair was a striking mix of pristine white and fiery red, creating an otherworldly contrast that, paired with his aura, evoked the image of a mountain—half fiery volcano, half frozen tundra. He had the stability of a mountain, that housed the elemental quality of the two states.

From what Yang Qing could sense, this wasn't merely a visual effect. The man either cultivated an art imbued with such qualities or possessed a unique physique that mirrored the quality of those elements.

Duan Ting and Liu Ying instinctively adopted a cautious demeanor the moment they stood before him. Their reaction was natural—they couldn't sense the young man's cultivation realm, which meant his strength far exceeded their own.

If the restaurant's attendants were peak-stage core formation experts, what realm would their assistant supervisor occupy? The thought unsettled them.

Yang Qing, however, had no such uncertainty. He could clearly sense the young man's cultivation—early-stage palace realm. The density of his aura, though restrained, hinted that he was likely at the peak of the fourth stage within that realm.

"Thank you, Mei Yu," the young man said with a polite nod, his voice calm and unhurried. Mei Yu returned the gesture with a slight bow of acknowledgment before departing, leaving the group in his capable hands.

"Welcome once again to Dreamscape Swallow's Nest. My name is Long Wei, and I will be your attendant for the day. Please, if you would..." the young man said politely, gesturing toward the entrance to the fifth floor with a composed smile.

Yang Qing nodded in thanks and motioned for the others to follow. However, Duan Ting and the rest hesitated, their steps faltering as if their feet had taken root. Whether it was awe or trepidation, they seemed unable to move forward without prompting.

Yang Qing, leading the way, stepped onto the fifth floor and was greeted by a surprising sight. He had expected grandeur equal to, if not greater than, the previous floors—ornate paintings, exquisite plants of rare quality, and luxurious designs that screamed wealth. Instead, what greeted him was simplicity.

It looked plain, with just wooden floors and plain furniture that you would commonly see at some restaurant in some small town one would quickly forget. They were raw and grainy, and the scent made them feel like they were just processed—and poorly at that—since some of the seats and tables had a few branches with leaves on them.

Yet, despite its outward simplicity, Yang Qing knew better.

Duan Ting and the rest could not feel it because of their low cultivation realms, but Yang Qing could clearly feel it... the power of the Grand Dao diffusing out of every single piece of furniture and floorboard. The density wasn't similar to that of Sage Mountain, but the presence of the Grand Dao was there, slowly trickling out and permeating the area.

Yang Qing could feel his palace realm stir gently under the influence of the Dao-laden diffusion.

As for the trio, while they couldn't sense the profound aura permeating the space, they were wise enough not to judge by appearances. Their expressions turned solemn, and they moved cautiously, their gazes darting around the floor with an air of quiet reverence.

Long Wei guided them to a simple roughly crafted table and handed Yang Qing a wooden token intricately carved with runes.

"This token controls the arrays attached to your table," Long Wei explained. "Using it, you can activate a variety of functions, including a teleportation array for food and drink delivery. There's no need to call for staff—your orders will be sent and received directly."

He continued, "Additionally, the token grants access to an isolation array. Once activated, it will conceal your presence even from the senses of an early-stage domain expert. Anyone entering this floor won't be able to detect you unless you allow it."

Yang Qing raised an eyebrow at that revelation. He glanced around the room, his mind briefly wandering to the other tables scattered across the floor. How many of them, he wondered, were already occupied by unseen guests, cloaked in the veil of the isolation array?

With his explanation complete, Long Wei offered a slight bow and departed gracefully, leaving them to their privacy.

Wasting no time, Yang Qing activated the isolation array, ensuring their presence would remain hidden. He also triggered the anti-scrying arrays embedded within the token, layering their security to the highest degree.

Only when everything was in place did he finally break the silence, his gaze steady and voice low as he repeated the question he had posed earlier:

"So, what happened?"